Our first week back had a bit of everything. Thank you to those that attended the secondary conferences. It is always good for us to connect. As well as the conferences we had Ms Makenya, Head of UNEP Tanzania, meeting with students ahead of the COP27 event in November. On Friday we had both the Farmers’ Market and the KCMC blood drive both of which are student led and both were a success. Yesterday the blood drive collected 110 units for the blood bank. You can see a picture of Mr Simon donating further down. Also on Friday there was a math competition in Arusha where our students showed what they are made of.
Next week things don’t slow down as the PYP start after school clubs and we have our annual Halloween festivities for both PYP and Secondary on Friday. Saturday the 29th we have teams visiting for NTSAA football and basketball in preparation for the Sports Weekend just 4 weeks from now.
Please contact us if you have any questions on events or want to know how to get involved.
Bob Cofer – Head of Campus
Upcoming Events
PYP Halloween
Secondary Halloween
Many thanks to Christine Brandsma and her team of volunteers who are planning some spectacular haunted houses for the evening on 28th October. Sign up sheets for transport will be displayed on the breezeway. Sign up early as spaces are limited.
There is a collection box for wrapped candy donations in the front office.
Ben’s Corner
Sustainability has become a widely accepted societal goal, the idea that we are all tasked with fulfilling the needs of current generations without compromising the needs of future generations. At the same time, ensuring a balance between economic growth, environmental care and social well-being. No small feat.
As a Movement, UWC has long recognised the importance of education for sustainable development. We all envisage a future where we thrive within the means of our planet but, for now, we are consuming natural resources faster than they can regenerate and digging ourselves into ecological debt. This week, it was heartening to be in the audience for UWCEA’s first ever Youth Climate Conference. The conference was (deliberately) very timely with COP27, the annual UN Climate Change Conference, taking place next month in Egypt.
It was wonderful to welcome Ms. Makenya, Head of UNEP Tanzania, to our campus and to have the support of Dr. El-Omrani, COP27 Youth Envoy. The aim of the Youth Climate Conference was to raise our collective awareness and, hopefully, guide our community to draft a Proposal Paper. All being well, Dr. El-Omrani will be sharing our proposals with the COP27 President….making us one of the only schools in the world to be represented at COP27!
To quote our very own Mathieu, the driving force behind our conference, “young people need to make their voices heard and be part of discussions through the proper mechanisms and in a pragmatic way.” It is our students who will go on to propose innovative solutions, drive social progress and inspire political change. As a school, what we can do is help them develop the necessary skills and offer them opportunities to fulfil their potential. I am convinced there is a lot more to come.
Ben Morley – Deputy Head of Campus
Diploma News
It is good to see the students again after the break. The majority of them look rested and ready for the quarter ahead. It was also good to “see” so many parents on Wednesday at the Parent Conferences, we really appreciate you taking the time to talk to us. If you were unable to attend and have questions, please email their teachers or me for an update. As part of the planning for these conferences, students prepared answers to these questions for each subject.
What have been my successes?,
What have been my challenges?,
What can the school and my parents do to support me?
If they haven’t already shared these with you, please ask them to do so.
On Tuesday the D2 students submitted their Extended Essay drafts. They have been working on this since April and have hopefully written 4000 words. Their supervisors are now working on their feedback to allow students to prepare for the final submission in December. I have been very impressed with the way they have handled this with a few students negotiating an extension in advance and all the others meeting the deadline.
Margaret Brunt – DP Coordinator
Youth Climate Conference
COP27, the annual UN Climate Change Conference, is beginning on 6 November 2022 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. COPs usually host the most important annual climate negotiations and have led to major climate breakthroughs, including the Kyoto Protocol (COP3), Paris Agreement (COP21), and more recently, the Glasgow Pact (COP26). COP27 is regarded as the ‘Implementation COP’, where commitments taken in the Paris Agreement would finally be implemented. For this to happen, young people need to make their voices heard and be part of discussions through the proper mechanisms and in a pragmatic way.
As we believe that young people must be heard at COP27, UWCEA hosted its first ever Youth Climate Conference on Tuesday 18 October. This conference enabled students to engage in deep discussions on pertinent questions relating to the triple planetary crisis. These discussions have led to the presentations of key ideas from students which will be formulated into a Proposal Paper on behalf of UWCEA, making us one of the only schools in the world to be represented at COP27!
On this special occasion, the school hosted Ms Makenya, Head of UNEP Tanzania, and also had Dr Omnia El-Omrani, COP27 Youth Envoy, joining us online to deliver her speech. The latter has taken the commitment of sending our proposals to the COP27 President and encouraged us to make our voices heard at COP27. On her side, Ms Makenya delivered a message on behalf of the United Nations and reaffirmed the UN’s commitment of supporting the youth all around Tanzania. Also in attendance, Ms Anna Marsden applauded this initiative which is the fruit of teamwork and which will lead to constructive youth proposals which are of utmost importance.
Mathieu
Math Competition
On Friday a group of three students travelled to Arusha for a Senior Mathematics Competition. In the first-round students competed individually and spent an hour working through some challenging questions. The second round was a team competition. They had 10 problems to solve and had to decide the order to attempt them and who should try each question to maximize points.
Results:
Jin – 1st for D1 students
Jonatan – 1st for D2 students
UWCEA Moshi – 1st overall
Congratulations to Mark, Jin and Jonatan.
Residential Life
Welcome back to everyone in Residential Life.
I am absolutely thrilled to see everyone return after having a well-deserved break, time with loved ones, or just time to relax and get on top of their academic commitments.
I will keep this update short as there is so much you can see that is happening in all age groups. However, it is pertinent to note that we have a new Residential Parent in Kijana/Kiongozi, Ms Alya, who is taking over from Ms Penny as she goes on early maternity leave. Ms Alya is extremely experienced and as it happens, is the wife of Mr Mostafa, the Assistant Parent of Kivuli. I know Kijana and Kiongozi will welcome her with open arms, and we all wish Ms Penny and Mr Alastair the best of luck with what awaits them.
I am also excited to announce that we are supervising a student led project in Kisiwa as they build an outdoor African themed shelter and relaxation expanse and thank you to Mr Baden for supervising with the welding and more.
Next week we commence Diploma academic mentoring in MYP dorms and begin Sunday activities with PYP. In this way, we have positive and uplifting engagement with our Diploma students through to all ages.
Finally, please do take note of our calendar dates and be aware that all our dorms close on Saturday the 10th of December at 10am. We will provide school transport on the 8th, 9th, and 10th respectively. Should your Diploma child not be able to return home for the December break, we will open our off-campus house Kishari at a cost.
For more information, please do reach out and I am very much looking forward to the eventful quarter ahead.
Simon Johnston – Head of Residential Life
Sports Update
There is lots of exciting sports news coming this quarter. First, we would like to thank Dr Volker and Mr Julien for leading our students in renovating the volleyball courts. The amount of physical effort put into this project has been incredible. Dr Volker, Mr Julien and the students have spent days digging up the existing volleyball posts and cementing them into new, improved positions. This has improved the standard of our volleyball courts ready for Sports Weekend with a beautiful view of Mount Kilimanjaro!
We are excited to host our first NTSAA league games this season for U15 basketball and Open football boys’ and girls’ teams. The event will be held next Saturday, 29th Oct, 2022. Our students are very excited and prepared as they have been training since August.
Sports weekend is coming up very soon, and the countdown continues; we are 28 days away!
Mostafa Rihan – Sports and Activities Coordinator
Outdoor Pursuits
Welcome back everyone to quarter 2! Over the break, UWCEA students accomplished our OP Program’s highest level in the Peaks category, Level 5. This is a massive achievement for our school. The group consisted of 44 students, 8 teaching staff and 50+ support staff. This was an over 100 person team collectively navigating, supporting and working up Mount Kilimanjaro. The team went 5895m above sea level and experienced the lack of oxygen up there. When I speak with the students from the trip, now safe back on campus, they all say this “I will never look at that mountain the same way again!”
We would like to acknowledge the staff team who made the Peaks Level 5 expedition up Mount Kilimanjaro a success. To Mr Isaac Foya and Mr Salimu Ismail for managing all logistics and operations before, during and after the trip, your knowledge and experience on and off the mountain is outstanding. Thank you for your commitment to this program. To Mr Simon Johnson, Thank you for your work in preparing the student team, ensuring their safety, physical energy and mental toughness was in place for the trip. Thank you sir. And all a I’d like to send a shout out to Experiential Learning Coordinator Olivier Emond for his organizational support and to all the UWCEA staff who made the trip the success it was. Thank you to Isack Igenge, Frank Ngowi (Guide), Delphine Riziki, Gift Tyea, Coralie Bouillaut and Amanda Bowen.
On Thursday the 6th October, the largest school group ever to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro set out to Marangu Gate. After the students from both campuses greeted one another, we adjusted backpacks, put on sunscreen and stretched. At around 11am we set foot through Marangu Gate and the adventure had begun!
The first day was a pleasant 4 hour hike through the cool rainforest, to Mandara hut (2700m). After getting our rooms and resting for a bit, we went on a short hike to Maundi Crater. Despite being tired we enjoyed this hike as we were rolling around in the fluffy grass inside the crater or watching the sunset from the crater rim. Although the excitement for the next couple of days was high, we went to bed early as we knew we needed the rest.
On the second day we set out early. Shortly after Mandara, we left the rainforest and were hiking through heather-moorland, vegetation you can not find anywhere else in Tanzania. The sun was beating down on us and sunscreen and hats were essential (especially for the irish). However, about 2h into the hike the weather changed dramatically and we were stuck in thick fog. The unpredictability of the weather was astonishing. We reached Horombo Hut (3700m) sometime in the afternoon. After being shown to our huts, some stretched or napped and a few crazy people took the coldest shower of their lifetime. After dinner we all quickly fell into our beds. Temperatures dropped below 0 and many were freezing in their sleeping bags. The solution is sleeping with more clothes on and cuddling with your friends.
The third day was quite relaxed. We did a 4h acclimatization hike to the Zebra rocks (4000m). We were now above the clouds and the view of Mawenzi and Kibo were beautiful. The afternoon was spent taking pictures, stretching, resting and napping.
On the 4th day we hiked through the alpine deserts. Here the first symptoms of altitude sickness usually kick in, minor headaches and loss of appetite. Suprisingly, the majority of us felt perfectly fine. We reached Kibo Hut (4700m) in the afternoon and got to nap until 6pm for dinner. Now the headaches and loss of appetite were affecting more people but we had 4 more hours to sleep before the summit night. For most us it was difficult to fall asleep but at least we could rest. At 11pm we woke up, put on all our layers of clothes and set out at midnight. The full moon made hiking easier and more pleasant. However, it was cold and altitude sickness were affecting most of us by now. We stuck together with our friends and kept motiviating each other, which kept us going . The Guides made sure we were all doing okay and drinking enough water.
Everyone reached Gilmans Point (5685m) in a different state, some still feeling well, others throwing up and having pounding headaches. Nevertheless, the sunrise gave us all a mental boost. Pushing 2 more hours unitl Uhuru Peak was personally the most difficult part. On top (haha) of the altitude and being exhausted we could now feel the sleep deprivation and many almost fell alseep whilst walking. Ask any student about the phrase “DON’T SLEEP!!!” and they will tell you the trauma it has caused. We kept pushing and realised it was all worth it when we reached Uhuru Peak (5895m). 42 of us summitted successfully (in 3 different groups, about 45min apart). After spending 10min at the peak we rushed down to get to Kibo Hut and a safe altitude as quickly as possible. After a bit of rest and some food, we continued down back to Horombo Hut. As you descend your body receives more and more oxygen, so we felt better and better and were flying down the moutain, despite barely having slept and eaten in the last 24h.
At Horombo we were all happy to rest. Some of us woke up extra early to see the sunrise (one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen!).
On the last day we were all determined to get home quickly to finally rest. The hike down to Marangu Gate took about 6 hours and although we had tired muscles and blisters we went down quite quickly. At the Gate we waited for everyone to arrive, then thanked all the porters for their work and went on the bus home. It was a truly amazing experience. we all pushed our limits further than most of us had imagined and although some people suffered more or less than others, we did it together!
To finsih off, I want to thank all the teachers and staff who came with us, organised a lot of things and kept us motivated and, more importantly, safe on the entire trip! A massive thank you also has to go to all the porters and guides. Without their endless energy, motivation and support we would never have made it! Lastly, I specifically want to thank our trip leaders Mr. Isaac Foya, Mr. Salimu Ismail and Mr. Isack Igenge. They did so much organization and work behind the scenes in order to ensure the success of this trip. Thank you!
Benjamin
Upcoming trips for the OP team include:
Usambara – Peaks Level 2
Fish Eagle point – Reefs Level 3
West Kilimanjaro – Rides Level 1
Baden Dowie – Experiential Learning Coordinator
From the Counselors
Welcome back to another quarter!
I trust everyone had a good break with a good balance between relaxation, fun, connection, and last but definitely not least – some self-care.
Whilst this first week back has been fairly calm, it has been a good opportunity for students, teachers, and parents to get back into a healthy routine and rhythm.
Either in the classroom with M2 students, by the lunch table with P6 students, or in a confidential chat with a D1 student, I oftentimes come back to the importance of daily Checking In With Ourselves as a powerful self-care practice.
But what does that really mean? Well, this is of course linked to our wellbeing.
A way to do this is to take time to pause at least once a day to ask yourself questions like;
How am I feeling?
What do I need right now?
What makes me happy?
What can I let go of?
In this space, you can sort out your emotions, assess your physical and emotional needs, and make an intentional plan on how to address these needs moving forward.
Try it out – You and your wellbeing matter!
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your childs’ social and emotional wellbeing, please come by or reach out (see contact details below)!
After school clubs will start on Monday. The children brought home a slip of paper on Friday that listed their assigned clubs. Many thanks to those parents who are running a club this quarter – we are very grateful for your support.
Thank you to everyone who has signed up to decorate their car for the PYP Trunk or Treat. Thank you also to those people who have donated wrapped candy to the front office. If your child plans to attend the PYP Halloween celebrations he/she will need a costume (home made is great) and a bag in which to collect candy. The deadline for sending in 6000 Tshillings for the Halloween supper is the end of the school day on Wednesday, 26th October.After this date it will not be possible to register for the meal as the kitchen staff need time to plan and prepare. Please note that Friday will be a normal day at school – all Halloween celebrations and costume wearing will take place in the afternoon, outside of school hours.
On Thursday, P2 – P6 children brought home a letter about participating in the school production. Please complete the form, confirming whether or not your child will be performing on the evenings of 2nd and 3rd February, and return it to your child’s teacher. The production team requires this information early for choreography and costuming purposes.
Please note a date change to our Primary Gathering schedule. The Daycare Centre will now present on Friday, 18th November. This change is because an athletics meet will be taking place in Arusha on Friday, 11th November – more details to follow. Next Friday (28th October) will see the EC/P1 class presenting in the primary gathering. Please come along to Rafiki to support our youngest learners.
Deborah Mills – PYP Coordinator
EC/P1 Class
This quarter, we will be focusing on a new unit.
Transdisciplinary Theme: How the world works
Central Idea: People build things to meet a need.
Lines of Inquiry
Geometry and measurement when building or creating
Modes of transportation
Finding and using resources to build
This week, we have been working on our primary gathering presentation which introduces the ideas in our new unit. There will be three houses built from different materials. That might give you a hint of what our presentation will be about. We will be presenting this Friday on the 28th. You are all welcome.
Mboka Mwasongwe
P2/3 Class
Wow- the class is so excited about our BIOMES unit! They brought a lot of knowledge to our discussions about Oceans and they were keen to learn more. In the coming week, we will turn our focus to the Savanna biome. I imagine that many students will have personal stories to tell about this biome as well. If your family has had opportunities to go on safari, please take some time to talk about those trips with your children and remind them of animals and plants that you were able to see. How remarkably fortunate we are to live close to such amazing biodiversity!
The photo shows some of the food chains that students created. Examples included: Sun, seaweed, lionfish, squid, shark and Sun, seeds, mouse, snake, hawk.
Kacey Buckley
P4/5 Class
The children returned to class on Monday full of energy, with lots of stories to tell about the October break. This week we have been looking at plate tectonics. The children have put together a puzzle showing the different plates and have modelled plate movement using cards and shaving foam. Next week we will investigate what happens when volcanoes erupt and will make plaster models of volcanoes. In maths we have investigated reflective symmetry and started using rounding numbers to give an estimate of what the answer should be when adding and subtracting numbers. We will do more of this next week. In language we have been looking at a different Latin root each day – so far we have looked at multi-, mal- and aqua-. This work will help the children define unfamiliar words. Please send in money (6000 Tshillings) if your child plans to eat the Halloween supper at school next Friday.
Deborah Mills
P6 Class
“Media helps us to create, extend and challenge our perception of the World” for example, this newsletter either in online form or in “hard” paper copy shares our progress. This week, we looked into the different forms of media and at how to stay safe online. We’ll also be looking at how the media can influence us- particularly through advertising, so it would be good if you can look out for examples at home to discuss. We’ve worked at written methods of addition and subtraction and mind mapping as a way to organise and record information, including for our new spooky class novel. This weekend is a good time to prepare Halloween costumes for next Friday: I look forward to seeing them all! Thank you for all the candy/ snack donations for the day.
In music, amongst whole class performances, several of our students have demonstrated their individual talents- well done!
